Aluminum alloys are more likely to be anodized than plated. My Contour is completely non-magnetic. That doesn't rule out SS, some types of SS are, some are not magnetic. Nothing about it says "steel" to me.
GEM CONTOUR
- Thread starter doctordial
- Start date
Hmmmmmmmm.
That is plated for sure. Magnetic? Chrome on steel?
In my magnet's quick tour through Gem SE razors, these were the results:
Kampfe Star - heads non-magnetic, handle is steel
1912s (England, Brooklyn, many styles of handle, Gem, Star, E-R) - all non-magnetic except that my two Damaskeene's handles are steel
Little Lather Catchers - all non-magnetic
Shovelheads - all non-magnetic
Micromatics, G-Bar, Featherweight, pushbutton Contour - all non-magnetic
In my magnet's quick tour through Gem SE razors, these were the results:
Kampfe Star - heads non-magnetic, handle is steel
1912s (England, Brooklyn, many styles of handle, Gem, Star, E-R) - all non-magnetic except that my two Damaskeene's handles are steel
Little Lather Catchers - all non-magnetic
Shovelheads - all non-magnetic
Micromatics, G-Bar, Featherweight, pushbutton Contour - all non-magnetic
What really impresses me about ASR (and predecessors') razors? The springs! They always seem to be strong and functional, even in razors whose plating is beat to death.
I just tested it. It’s not magnetic.
I say brass or zamac, then. ASR processed a lot of brass over the years. Key corporate competency, if I may descend into biz speak for a moment. Shocking bubbling, though. Razor abuse, slipping corporate standards, or zamac?
Stop! You’re breaking my heart,
The handle does look molded, rather than machined, at least where it attaches to the base plate. I have seen brushed chrome and electroless nickel on revolvers that looked like stainless. I guess we are back to plating over some type of base metal.
...alas contour, it’s as though we never really knew you.
It’s funny how this thread on GEMs most ignored and maligned razor has been heating up as of late.
Now the question is...after using brass for its entire existence, did GEM switch to zamac in its death throws, or did they remain pure of heart.
It’s funny how this thread on GEMs most ignored and maligned razor has been heating up as of late.
Now the question is...after using brass for its entire existence, did GEM switch to zamac in its death throws, or did they remain pure of heart.
Pure of heart, I hope.
Plus re-tooling or re-sourcing for molded zinc alloy (sounds better than zamac... maybe?) is probably tougher than bending/stamping sheet aluminum alloy, just as brass was bent into ASR razors for the better part of a century.
Thanks to the Merkur slant head, I'm not a zamac hater. My Merkur 36 was going strong after 4 decades in my two DE rotation. On the other hand, I have a very vintage Merkur zamac handle whose bubbles and shed plating make the Contour handle look pristine.
I admit to ignoring and posting 'faint praise' of my Contour. It does an excellent job, sitting with the Kampfe Star Safety Razor, of demonstrating the endpoints of the Arc of the Gem Razor. Thankfully, while the Gem blade lives on, Edgewell picked the Personna brand for their carts.
Nice succinct company history on personna dot com:
BUILDING ON 135+ YEARS OF INNOVATION
In 1875 the Kampfe brothers applied for a patent for their new hair removal invention, coining the term “safety razor” and starting a shaving revolution that continues to this day. Unlike the straight razors of the past, which are cumbersome, difficult to maintain, and has an exposed edge, the Kampfe’s Star Razor included a safety guard that served to both protect the shaver from the bare blade and to help them achieve the optimal shaving angle. The brothers formed American Safety Razor to market their products, molding the company into a dominant player in the early 20th century shaving market with their Ever-Ready brand and acquisitions of other major brands such as Gem, Pal, and Burma Shave.
In the coming decades, ASR added industrial and medical blade products to its portfolio and continued to innovate in wet shaving, achieving a number of firsts in North America and worldwide including the first stainless steel razor blades, the first guarded blades, the first female disposable razor, and the legendary tungsten steel double edge blades that remain a highly sought after collectors’ item to this day.
In late 2010, ASR was acquired by Edgewell, the owner of the Schick and Wilkinson razor brands. It is now known as the Private Brands Group – a division of Edgewell Personal Care. Today, Private Brands Group produces over two billion blades each year.
Plus re-tooling or re-sourcing for molded zinc alloy (sounds better than zamac... maybe?) is probably tougher than bending/stamping sheet aluminum alloy, just as brass was bent into ASR razors for the better part of a century.
Thanks to the Merkur slant head, I'm not a zamac hater. My Merkur 36 was going strong after 4 decades in my two DE rotation. On the other hand, I have a very vintage Merkur zamac handle whose bubbles and shed plating make the Contour handle look pristine.
I admit to ignoring and posting 'faint praise' of my Contour. It does an excellent job, sitting with the Kampfe Star Safety Razor, of demonstrating the endpoints of the Arc of the Gem Razor. Thankfully, while the Gem blade lives on, Edgewell picked the Personna brand for their carts.
Nice succinct company history on personna dot com:
BUILDING ON 135+ YEARS OF INNOVATION
In 1875 the Kampfe brothers applied for a patent for their new hair removal invention, coining the term “safety razor” and starting a shaving revolution that continues to this day. Unlike the straight razors of the past, which are cumbersome, difficult to maintain, and has an exposed edge, the Kampfe’s Star Razor included a safety guard that served to both protect the shaver from the bare blade and to help them achieve the optimal shaving angle. The brothers formed American Safety Razor to market their products, molding the company into a dominant player in the early 20th century shaving market with their Ever-Ready brand and acquisitions of other major brands such as Gem, Pal, and Burma Shave.
In the coming decades, ASR added industrial and medical blade products to its portfolio and continued to innovate in wet shaving, achieving a number of firsts in North America and worldwide including the first stainless steel razor blades, the first guarded blades, the first female disposable razor, and the legendary tungsten steel double edge blades that remain a highly sought after collectors’ item to this day.
In late 2010, ASR was acquired by Edgewell, the owner of the Schick and Wilkinson razor brands. It is now known as the Private Brands Group – a division of Edgewell Personal Care. Today, Private Brands Group produces over two billion blades each year.
Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
The founders of ASR are shuddering in their graves when those razors came out to the public, they would of made something more special for the Gem users possibly( adjustable razor with different plates that are out there now). I believe they had all passed away by then in the 1970's and I'm not sure they would like what happened to some products and the company had changed hands & people who ran GEM were not the inventing type I'm thinking & IMO! It's been fun reading about the Gem Contour and its physical make up you fellows have been trying to divulge in finding information.
It's hard finding any information & thanks to @mata_66 for his research which is reasonable considering all the variants out there.
There are ways of finding what the material it is with non destructive testing with radiation type of guns that you just point and shoot( they give % of alloys in the specimen), we used them in the oil & Gas & pulp & paper industries all the time for checking raw stock & pipes to be fixed that where alloyed & unknown. All welding inspection companies that work on turn arounds & shutdowns have them & are expensive!
Last edited:
Similar threads
